Rhydan’s POV
Nobody breathed.
Not him.
Not Kaelor.
Not even the wolves surrounding the perimeter.
The words hit the camp like a physical blow.
“You’re my mother.”
Rhydan looked at Aurenya instantly.
She looked just as shocked as everyone else.
Which somehow made it worse.
Serathine stood beyond the ward line silently, silver markings faintly glowing beneath her skin as she looked at Aurenya with an expression Rhydan couldn’t fully read.
Not cold.
Not warm either.
Something heavier.
Aurenya’s breathing turned uneven. “No…”
But even as she said it—
Rhydan saw it.
The resemblance.
The eyes.
The energy pressing against the bond.
The way the wards reacted to both of them identically.
Draven finally spoke. “Serathine died decades ago.”
Serathine’s gaze shifted toward him ca
